1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a valve assembly. More specifically, the invention is a magnetostrictive valve assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aerospace rocket engines are typically supplied with fuel through one or more valves. These valves are generally single flow-through elements that are generally driven by a prime mover that is mechanical, electromechanical, or pneumatic in nature. Very often, the response times of these types of valves are not optimal. Furthermore, these types of valves all require one or more penetrations through a barrier/interface between the fuel and the valve element's prime mover so that the prime mover can be physically coupled to the valve element. However, such penetrations are the source of leaks and/or failures. Thus, these prior art valves are generally considered too unreliable to be used by themselves. Accordingly, fuel system designers frequently design either single-element valve systems requiring extensive testing and quality control, or design redundant or parallel-path fuel delivery systems. In either case, the overall system cost is increased. Further, in the case of parallel-path systems, the overall system's size and weight are negatively impacted.